Musical instrument



E. W. DAVIS June 10, 1941.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed Jan. 22, 1940 faz/ff@ Patented June 1), 1941UNITED STAT ,Parser 3 Claims.

My invention relates to musical instruments and includes among itsobjects and advantages an extension oi the pitch range and an improvement 'in tone quality, especially at higher pitches, in the type ofmusical instrument in which pitch variation is obtained by varying thevolume of a cavity defined primarily by the oral cavity of the player,and, to a minor extent, by the instrument itself.

A specific object is to enable the player to produce a true tremolo toneat will. Further objects and advantages will be apparent as thedescription proceeds.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure l. is a front perspective view of a device according to theinvention with the position of the head and hands of the user indicatedin dotted lines;

Figure 2 is an elevation of the instrument from the side juxtaposed tothe face of the player in use;

Figure 3 is a section on line 3 3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a section on line 4 4 of Figure 1.

In the embodiment of the invention selected for illustration, theinstrument comprises la barrier shaped to overlie the partly openedmouth of the user and made up of a central panel I0, a left wing l2, and`a right wing I4. The wings lie at a slight angle to the body and thejunctions are somewhat rounded to denne a substantially curved barrierconforming approximately to the undistorted contour of the lips andcheeks of the user. Suiicient pressure against the users face to securea seal, readily distorts the lips and adjacent cheek portions of theuser to lit perfectly against the barrier. It will be noted that thebarrier is perfectly straight in vertical cross section as shown inFigure 3, and thus imposes no limitation to up and down movement of theupper lip indicated at I6 or the lower lip indicated at i8 in connectionwith the movement of the user in enlarging or lessening the size of theoral cavity 2U, part of which is indicated in Figure 3 in dotted lines.As it is the size of this cavity that determines the pitch of theresultant tone, this freedom enables the user to attain a range ofpitches limited primarily only by the anatomy of the player. Theposition indicated in dotted lines in Figure 3 is for a relatively lownote, though not necessarily the lowest, and it will be evident that thelips I6 and I3 could be moved together to be separated by aboutone-fourth as much space `as is shown in Figure 3 and still besymmetrically spaced with respect to the main aperture 2.2 which iscentrally positioned in the panel IG.

To activate the air in the oral cavity, I provide a passageway.including a straight portion 2t terminating closely adjacent the soundaperture 22, and a tapered portion 23 opening at 28 through a curvednose piece or shield 3l) adapted to lie against the nostrils of the userand receive air breathed out by the user, which air issues across thesound aperture 22 and generates the sound. In the right wing I4 Iprovide a tapered tremolo aperture 32, with its large end outermost.This makes a large enough dimple in the outer surface so that the usersfinger can readily find it. With the parts of the players mouth in agiven position and the aperture 32 open, the air in the oral cavity willvibrate at a slightly lower frequency than when the aperture is closed.Thus the user, as clearly indicated in Figure l, may use one finger,such as the index linger 3d of the right hand, to cover and uncover theaperture 32, and when this is done rapidly as by vibratinfJr the fingeracross the aperture as idnicated by arrows 36 and 38 in Figure 1, atremolo, or periodic oscillation in pitch may be obtained, the frequencyof the oscillation depending on the speed of vibration of the nger 34.It will be apparent that this is a true tremolo as distinguished from avibrato. With the aperture 32 either covered or uncovered, the playercan produce a vibrato by varying the force used to produce the sound,although with such an instrument as this, the tremolo is a much moredesirable musical eiect.

The instrument is customarily used by placing it in the position ofFigure 1, and holding it in position with the left hand, leaving theright hand free to cover or uncover the aperture 32 as desired.I-Iowever, when a tremolo eiect is not wanted, either hand may be usedto hold it in place.

`It is noted that the shape of the passageway 2te-255 is such that acore defining the space occupied by the passageway, can be withdrawnupwardly. Accordingly, the device can readily be produced by casting inmetal in a single piece or by molding in plastic material in a singlepiece.

I am `aware that musical instruments of this general type have been madeand used prior to my invention but, so far as I am aware, they projectedinto the users mouth or at least were of irregular vertical contour sothat it was diicult for the user to move his lips with freedom inadjusting the tone. And I am not Iaware that any such instrument hasbeen produced in the past capable of producing a true tremolo tone. Withan instrument according to the invention, it requires only slightpractice to play three full octaves, and because the lips can be drawntogether to make appropriate changes in the shape of the oral cavity asthe pitch goes up, the high notes can be made quite clear andharmonious.

Without further elaboration the foregoing will so fully explain myinvention that others may, by applying knowledge current at the time ofapplication, readily adapt the same for use under various conditions ofservice.

I claim:

1. A musical instrument comprising a nose piece conformed to the generalshape of that portion of a human nose which surrounds the nostrils; abarrier plate conformed to the general shape of that portion of a humanface which surrounds the lips, said barrier plate having a soundaperture therein positioned to register with a performers mouth whensaid nose piece is in contact with the performers nose, and said barrierplate having a tremolo aperture therein in close proximity to said soundaperture; and an air passageway extending downwardly from said nosepiece and terminating in a position to discharge air across said soundaperture; the length of the overall space occupied by both saidapertures as measured in a horizontal direction coing less than thelength of an average human mouth.

2. A musical instrument comprising a nose piece conformed to the generalshape of that portion of a human nose which surrounds the nostrils; abarrier plate conformed to the general shape of that portion of a humanface which surrounds the lips, said barrier plate having a soundaperture therein positioned to register with a performers mouth whensaid nose piece is in contact with the performers nose; and an airpassageway extending downwardly from said nose piece and terminating ina position to discharge air across said sound aperture; the rear surfaceof said barrier plate being concave and the walls thereof being formedparallel with a vertical axis, whereby the resulting vertical wallspermit a performer to movehis lips freely and separate them to varyingdegrees without hindrance while maintaining contact between his lips andsaid barrier plate.

3. A musical instrument comprising a nose piece conformed to the generalshape of that portion of a performers nose which surrounds the nostrils;a barrier plate conformed to the general shape of that portion of ahuman face which surrounds the lips, said barrier plate having a soundaperture therein positioned to register with a performers mouth whensaid nose piece is in Contact with the performers nose; and an airpassageway extending downwardly from said nose piece and terminating ina position to discharge air across said sound aperture; said airpassageway extending in a single direction throughout its entire length,with the walls of said passageway and said nose piece diverging in thesame direction throughout their extent, whereby said passageway may beformed by means of a withdrawable core; said nose piece, barrier plate,andan' passageway being integral.

ERNEST W. DAVIS.

